A bit too late to say Happy New Year now, I guess, but I hope you had one.  I celebrated in Toronto and then flew to Florida with some friends where I froze for a week and had to dress like a mummy for walks on the beach.  It was mildly warm for one or two days so I got to strip down slightly, but my winter boots never came off my feet.  Oh well, it was a fun time anyway and perfect for clearing out the mental cobwebs before launching into a new decade.

This is going to be a good one, my spider senses tell me, and it’s certainly off to a promising start. I’m working on a new book about dinner parties, new television projects are finally getting off the ground, and exciting travel plans are already filling up the naked pages of my filofax.  I like the anticipation of it all, because, especially after last year, I’m more aware than ever of how great the distance can be between the beginning of a year and its end. The only thing you can be certain of is that it will be full of surprises.

It’s a cold day as I write.  I had a sudden urge to make bread for the first time in ages, so I’m warm inside as the dough rises. Winter does seem to be baking season. Someone wrote to the Web site recently asking for the recipe for Chocolate Cake with Peanut Butter Icing, which I wrote about on my bio page, and I thought maybe more of you would like to try it if you’re stuck inside, too, so I am posting it here.  The last time I made it I was probably about 12, so who knows what I’d think of it now: somehow peanut butter icing just doesn’t have the same urgent appeal to me now as it did back then, however…one never knows!  If you make it, be sure to let me know how it goes.